Alfred L. Kroeber's Visit to the Seris in 1930, as Recalled by Roberto Thomson Encinas

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• Alfred L. Kroeber's Visit to the Seris in 1930, as Recalled by Roberto Thomson Encinas
• Cathy Moser Marlett (bio)

Roberto Thomson Encinas (1888–1969), a rancher and amateur historian living in Sonora, Mexico, facilitated a six-day visit to the Seri Indians for anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber in March 1930, and in which Thomson accompanied him. The visit, which included a trip to Tiburon Island made in Seri boats, was the basis for Kroeber's 1931 monograph on the Seris. Thomson later described his experience in Spanish in an account based on his memory, written following the death of Kroeber in 1960.¹

Thomson considered himself a friend of the Seri people in the early twentieth century,² at a time when their numbers were drastically reduced because of epidemic disease and military campaigns against them. Serving as a liaison between the Seris and the Sonoran government, he helped maintain peaceful relations as well as channel material assistance to the Seris. It was he who accompanied ethnographer Edward H. Davis on seven visits to the area between 1922 and 1939.

Thomson, who had family connections with nineteenth-century Sonoran ranchers living within the traditional Seri territory, and with his own ranch there as well, recorded vignettes of personal and Sonoran history both in writing and in graphic illustrations. While some described his own interactions with the Seris, others involved Seri history collected from different sources. One manuscript was a compilation of notes from which the following is taken. Though written many years after Kroeber's visit, and even with Thomson's predilection to embellish history, the piece is interesting in that it is not only a firsthand (though brief) account of Kroeber's visit to the Seris, but it also includes a description of an unplanned visit to an isolated ranch during the trip, providing an intimate look at early Sonoran ranch life. [End Page 354]

The account translated here is not strictly literal, and care was taken to maintain the author's style and intended meaning, while some of the punctuation was adjusted for readability.

Excerpted from "Notes for the history of the Seri tribe" by Roberto Thomson Encinas

Of normal height, dressed in casual clothing, and with a full beard, he arrived at my door in March, 1930; without any hesitation he stretched forth his hand, addressing me by my own name, and grasping my hand said, "I am A. L. Kroeber. I know that you make regular trips to Tiburon Island, where I want to go and visit the Seri Indians, that is, if you would let me accompany you. How much should I pay you? What day would you leave? Would I find on the road, and even there, someone who could sell me food and provide lodging? Could you reserve a seat for me in the [truck's] cabin?" His eyes of dark blue flashed while he asked me the questions and a smooth smile brightened his countenance, while his right hand didn't stop pressing mine for a moment, as if making efforts to get me to agree. His modesty and precise grasp of details of course captivated me, and his concise speech was, in addition, so contagious that shortly I affirmed that I would accept, and that it would be an honor to have him at my side in the cabin. In other points I was more explicit, and beginning, I told him, "There are none of what might be strictly called houses and roads, and much less, restaurants or lodging, but of course [you are] invited to travel as we [are] accustomed; it wouldn't be necessary for [you] to pay us, and we wouldn't let [you] die of hunger, nor would the unfavorable weather kill [you]." Aware of the day of departure, he let go of my hand, but not before giving me many other strong handshakes and repeating his gratitude.

He presented himself punctually on the agreed-upon day, I having already prepared for the trip the previous day. He said, "If it wouldn't inconvenience you, I would like to add something to the trip's provisions." "If you would like...